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Political Extremism
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shared social consensus) to be far outside the mainstream attitudes of society. It can also be used in an economic context. The term may be used pejoratively by opposing groups, but is also used in academic and journalistic circles in a purely descriptive and non-condemning sense. Extremists' views are typically contrasted with those of moderates. In Western countries, for example, in contemporary discourse on Islam or on Islamic political movements, the distinction between extremist and moderate Muslims is commonly stressed. Political agendas perceived as extremist often include those from the far-left politics or far-right politics, as well as radicalism, reactionism, chauvinism, fundamentalism, and fanaticism. Definitions Pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the US English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by Noah Webster (1758–1843), a US lexicographer, as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's name in his honor. "''Webster's''" has since become a genericized trademark in the United States for US English dictionaries, and is widely used in dictionary titles. Merriam-Webster is the corporate heir to Noah Webster's original works, which are in the public domain. Noah Webster's ''American Dictionary of the English Language'' Noah Webster (1758–1843), the author of the readers and spelling books which dominated the American market at the time, spent decades of research in compiling his dictionaries. His first dictionary, ''A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language'', appeared in 1806. In it, he popularized features which would become a hallmark of American English spelling (''center'' rather than ''centre'', ''honor'' rat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing one's ingroup and outgroup, which leads to an emphasis on some conception of "purity", and a desire to return to a previous ideal from which advocates believe members have strayed. The term is usually used in the context of religion to indicate an unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs (the "fundamentals"). The term "fundamentalism" is generally regarded by scholars of religion as referring to a largely modern religious phenomenon which, while itself a reinterpretation of religion as defined by the parameters of modernism, reifies religion in reaction against modernist, secularist, liberal and ecumenical tendencies developing in religion and society in general that it perceives to be foreign to a particular religio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston Review
''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form is a "forum", featuring a lead essay and several responses. ''Boston Review'' also publishes an imprint of books with MIT Press. The editors in chief are Deborah Chasman and political philosopher Joshua Cohen; Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Junot Díaz is the fiction editor. The magazine is published by Boston Critic, Inc., a nonprofit organization. It has received praise from notable intellectuals and writers including John Kenneth Galbraith, Henry Louis Gates Jr., John Rawls, Naomi Klein, Robin Kelley, Martha Nussbaum, and Jorie Graham. History ''Boston Review'' was founded as ''New Boston Review'' in 1975. A quarterly devoted to literature and the arts, the magazine was started by a group that included Juan Alonso, Richard Burgi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fascism
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived interest of the nation or Race (human categorization), race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to communism, democracy, liberalism, Pluralism (political philosophy), pluralism, and socialism, fascism is at the far right of the traditional left–right spectrum.; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Fascism rose to prominence in early-20th-century Europe. The first fascist movements Italian fascism, emerged in Italy during World War I, before Fascism in Europe, spreading to other European countries, most notably Nazi Germany, Germany. Fascism also had adherents outside of Europe. Fascists saw World War I as a revolution that brought massive changes to the nature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seymour Martin Lipset
Seymour Martin Lipset ( ; March 18, 1922 – December 31, 2006) was an American sociologist and political scientist. His major work was in the fields of political sociology, trade union organization, social stratification, public opinion, and the sociology of intellectual life. He also wrote extensively about the conditions for democracy in comparative perspective. He was president of both the American Political Science Association (1979–1980) and the American Sociological Association (1992–1993). A socialist in his early life, Lipset later moved to the right, and was considered to be one of the first neoconservatives. At his death in 2006, ''The Guardian'' called him "the leading theorist of democracy and American exceptionalism"; ''The New York Times'' labeled him "a pre-eminent sociologist, political scientist and incisive theorist of American uniqueness" and ''The Washington Post'' reported that he was "one of the most influential social scientists of the past half cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centrism
Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policies and people who are not strongly aligned with left-wing or right-wing policies. Centrism is commonly associated with liberalism, radical centrism, and agrarianism. Those who identify as centrist support gradualism, gradual political change, often through a welfare state with moderate Redistribution of income and wealth, redistributive policies. Though its placement is widely accepted in political science, radical groups that oppose centrist ideologies may sometimes describe them as leftist or rightist. Centrist parties typically hold the middle position between major left-wing and right-wing parties, though in some cases they will hold the left-leaning or right-leaning vote if there are no viable parties in the given direction. Centrist p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The True Believer
''The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements'' is a non-fiction book authored by the American social philosopher Eric Hoffer. Published in 1951, it depicts a variety of arguments in terms of applied world history and social psychology to explain why mass movements arise to challenge the ''status quo''. Hoffer discusses the sense of individual identity and the holding to particular ideals that can lead to extremism and fanaticism among both leaders and followers.Hoffer, 1951, p. 10 Hoffer initially attempts to explain the motives of various types of personalities that give rise to mass movements and why certain efforts succeed while others fail. He articulates a cyclical view of history and explores why and how said movements start, progress, and end. Whether intended to be cultural, ideological, religious, or whatever else, Hoffer argues, mass movements are broadly interchangeable even when their stated goals or values differ dramatically. This makes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Schlesinger Jr
Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. ( ; born Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger; October 15, 1917 – February 28, 2007) was an American historian, social critic, and public intellectual. The son of the influential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and a specialist in American history, much of Schlesinger's work explored the history of 20th-century American liberalism. In particular, his work focused on leaders such as Harry S. Truman, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. In the 1952 and 1956 presidential campaigns, he was a primary speechwriter and adviser to the Democratic presidential nominee, Adlai Stevenson II. Schlesinger served as special assistant and "court historian" to President Kennedy from 1961 to 1963. He wrote a detailed account of the Kennedy administration, from the 1960 presidential campaign to the president's state funeral, titled '' A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House'', which won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Hoffer
Eric Hoffer (July 25, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American philosopher and social critic. A conservative moderate with an atypical working-class background, Hoffer authored ten books over his career and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, '' The True Believer'' (1951), was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that ''The Ordeal of Change'' (1963) was his finest work. The Eric Hoffer Book Award is an international literary prize established in his honor. The University of California, Berkeley awards an annual literary prize named jointly for Hoffer. Early life Many elements of Hoffer's early life are unverified, but in autobiographical statements, Hoffer claimed to have been born in 1902 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, to Knut and Elsa (Goebel) Hoffer. His parents were immigrants from Alsace, then part of Imperial Germany. By age five, Hoffer could a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palingenesis
Palingenesis (; also palingenesia) is a concept of rebirth or re-creation, used in various contexts in philosophy, theology, politics, and biology. Its meaning stems from Greek , meaning 'again', and , meaning 'birth'. In biology, it is another word for recapitulationthe largely discredited hypothesis that the development of an advanced individual organism mirrors the development of entire, more primitive species. In political theory, it is a central component of Roger Griffin's analysis of fascism as a fundamentally modernist ideology. In theology, the word may refer to reincarnation or to Christian spiritual rebirth. Philosophy and theology The word ''palingenesis'' or rather ''palingenesia'' () may be traced back to the Stoics, who used the term for the continual re- creation of the universe. Similarly, Philo designated Noah and his sons as leaders of a renovation or rebirth of the earth, Plutarch spoke of the transmigration of souls, and Cicero focused on his own retur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radical Politics
Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radicalisation. The word derives from the Latin ("root") and Late Latin ("of or pertaining to the root, radical"). Historically, political use of the term referred exclusively to a form of progressive electoral reformism, known as Radicalism, that had developed in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the denotation has changed since its 18th century coinage to comprehend the entire political spectrum, though retaining the connotation of "change at the root". History The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' traces usage of 'radical' in a political context to 1783. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' records the first political usage of 'radical' as ascribed to Charles James Fox, a British Whig Party parliamentarian who in 1797 p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nonviolent Extremism
Nonviolent extremism is the expression of extremist ideas through nonviolent means, without the use of terrorism or political violence. It can be contrasted with violent extremism. Nonviolent extremism manifests from the same ideologies as violent extremism, including right wing extremism, left wing extremism, and religious extremism. Much of the study of nonviolent extremism focuses on its potential to produce or incite violent extremism. Definition The primary distinction between violent and nonviolent extremism is the act of causing physical harm in the name of extremist beliefs. However, the line between violent and nonviolent extremism is not always clear. The spread of extremist ideas may be seen as contributing to and participating in violent extremism as an act of incitement, even if the speaker is not the one directly carrying out violent acts. Some scholars maintain that incitement to violence is an act of violent extremism, while others insist that a clear line shou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
